"C'è un solo modo di vedere le cose finché qualcuno non ci mostra come guardare con altri occhi" – "There is only one way to see things, until someone shows us how to look at them with different eyes" (Picasso) – "人观察事物的方式只有一种，除非有人让我们学会怎样以不同的眼光看世界" (毕加索)

Category Archives: English post

“The eyes of all were fixed on Him” is the way the evangelist Luke narrates what happened after Jesus had proclaimed the Word from the scroll of Isaiah.

We also know from the Gospels that Jesus desired to see Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus desired to see Jesus. Ultimately, Christian life is the outcome of these glances. God and human look for each other because they have nostalgia for each other. It’s not a Christian life to look at oneself and never at others. It’s not a Christian life first of all to look at one’s own sins. It’s not a Christian life to look at only at norms or regulations. Jesus first of all looks at the person and his needs that which he lacks to be fully human. All of us must always recover a positive look at ourselves and at others, to grow in our image and likeness of God.

Jesus, then, calls you by name, loves properly you with your personal history, your contradictory aspects, your joys and your sorrows. I would like to enter into your house and sit at the table, to live not with a judgment but with a profound intimacy. The Christian life is an intimate relationship with God the Father, revealed by Jesus on the other hand, not a list of humiliating sins to be confessed nor a mortifying punishment to be expiated. The love of God, His mercy are the foundations of everything and prevents everything. “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Not tomorrow nor after the resurrection but today, in daily occurrences, in breaking every day’s bread we already enjoy the presence of God, we enjoy the presence of the Spirit in the anticipation of the ultimate fulfillment.

Those who had fixed their eyes on Jesus felt loved by Him as one day felt by Peter and Paul, woman aught in adultery or the born blind person, Zacchaeus, or many others as narrated in the Bible.

Feeling loved is the real beginning of the conversion which has its foundation in Christ. The ‘conversions’ based on norms or moral principles result in fanaticism, rigidity or elite form of pseudo Christianity. Those who feel loved by Lord, find the strength to break open pessimism and are no more slaves to their poverty but become free humans.

There’s need to live the life of grace, which is life in accordance with Beatitudes with free hands and heart that feels loved, ready to love.

Like this:

The Preparatory Document of the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme “Young people, the faith and vocational discernment” is guiding the process of preparation of the Pre-Synodal Meeting of March and the Synod of October.

As it is known, the Holy Father wished to accompany this synodal journey with his personal letter to the youth of the whole world : “A better world can be built also as a result of your efforts, your desire to change and your generosity. Do not be afraid to listen to the Spirit who proposes bold choices; do not delay when your conscience asks you to take risks in following the Master. The Church also wishes to listen to your voice, your sensitivities and your faith; even your doubts and your criticism. Make your voice heard, let it resonate in communities and let it be heard by your shepherds of souls” (the letter of Pope Francis to the young people).

By now the questionnaire of consultation, sent to the representative bodies by law (Synods of Bishops and Councils of the Hierarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Episcopal Conferences, Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and Union of Superior Generals) proved to be a very useful tool. There is also the great novelty of a consultation of all young people through an Internet site, with a questionnaire about their expectations and their lives. The answers to the two questionnaires formed the basis for the drafting of the “Instrumentum Laboris”(working instrument) which will be the point of reference for the discussion of the Synod. Once again Pope Francis amazes us and encourages us to be protagonists of the Gospel and authentic and courageous witnesses of Christian life. All the young people of the world are “summoned”; they are called to make their voices heard, too often suffocated by the world of adults.

I would also remind you of the words that Jesus once said to the disciples who asked him: “Teacher […] where are you staying?” He replied, “Come and see” (Jn 1:38-39; the letter of Pope Francis to the young people).

As the Vatican has announced already, Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Pope Paul VI during the Synod of Bishops; a great gift for the youth of the world.

Let us begin this synodal journey knowing that the Lord calls us to follow Him with trust and passion, certainly He will always be with us during the journey.

The 4th Sunday of Lent which is also called as “Laetare”, is a pause on the long journey towards Easter, marked by the fast for forty days. On this Sunday the Church was pausing for a while, interrupting the fast for a day. The liturgy has a joyous beginning since the entrance antiphon, taken from the prophet Isaiah: “Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast”, the joy of being almost close to the Easter.

In 587 B.C. the king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar seizes and destroys Jerusalem, sets the temple on fire and deports the most useful/capable part of the population to slavery leaving back the older folk. The liturgy of today in the first reading presents us the conclusion of the second book of the Chronicles, whose anonymous author meditates on this disaster that no Israelite could ever have imagined. They looted/ plundered the temple of God. How could this happen?

The reason for deportation is – in the light of faith – the pride of the people of Jerusalem who despised, mocked and ignored the prophets – who were the truth bearers of God. It is not the temples that will save us – the temples with all that they mean of power and privilege, they will be destroyed – it is the truth of the love of God that precedes us, that saves us.

The truth that saves us is that God so loved the world that he gave his Only Son (Jn 3:16)… This verse is the pivot around which the whole history of God with man lives. God has loved, a past that however continues, lasts forever and flourishes even today. The Truth is the Good News that we should repeat on every awakening, on every difficulty, on any distrust. We are not Christians because we love God more; we are Christians because we believe that God loves us.

In the Gospel “to love” is not abstract instead it is something concrete that which realizes in ‘giving’, donating’ and ‘sacrificing’. This is also with God who never retained anything, even his only Son, which he gave to the world so that the world may be saved in and through him. Hence, God does nothing else but giving eternally, his Son Jesus Christ, who came from the Father as an intention of good, for our life, and calls us to remove that false image of a punitive God who frightens us and in which we were often educated. Love never causes fear;

Nicodemus goes to Jesus at night. Jesus through the darkness of narrow mindedness takes him to the understanding, in the light of the world surrounding him. Let us remember that the world is not bad or evil (as states the false and ignorant spirituality), the world is just a place where freedom plays its entire game: with God, without God, against God, indifferent to God. It’s our choices that determine our exile or our liberation. The God of Jesus Christ, the revealer of the Father, is always beside us, and leaves us free to choose. We too must learn from God to respect everyone’s freedom. Listening to the Word of God means entering into this logic, that is, proclaiming the Gospel without overpowering, with the certainty that even when we move away from him, we always find him near us, because Jesus never abandoned us, even during the time of the exile. Not even in the exile of pain, of unbelief, can snatch us from the arms of his paternal love that illuminates us every night like as it was for Nicodemus.

It is necessary to note the verse 21 of the Gospel of John in chapter 3 which concludes the verses quoted by the liturgy; we have a strong expression: “to live the truth”. We are used to, to seek, to know the truth (science, philosophy), but we are not used to “to live it”. Here, while science and philosophy legitimately seek the truth, the faith instead does what is true, it completes it. What is the truth in John? The Greek term alētheia has more or less the meaning of the term mystērion in St Paul. It indicates the depth of our being where there is the synthesis between love and pain, the meeting point between the human experience and the divine presence, between freedom and the gift. For John as for Paul, the truth is a person who comes to meet us; to be true means to let ourselves to be loved by Christ who comes to meet us and to do the same with the brothers who come to meet us.

This is why in John the “Truth” is related to “the judgment” because choosing it means taking a position for or against the person of Jesus, coming to light, coming out of the superficiality hidden by the darkness. Truth is judgment because it compels a choice and requires an assessment of what we are and what we do. Christianity is a behavior.

This is the mission of the Church as it is a “sacrament”: it should always reveal Christ-Truth to be met, not as a system of doctrines to be known because there is the perennial risk of making it an ideology, a moral philosophy. Unveiling the Truth/Christ means helping men and women to descend into the deep well of their conscience and to remain there listening to the voice of the one who comes to call you them by name because only he knows what is in each of us (Jn. 2:24).

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Today, March 13th, five years have passed since Pope Francis sits on the Chair of St. Peter and it shines with a unique light that manifests the working of the Spirit in the Church.

Evangelii GaudiumLaudato Sì Amoris Laetitita Joy, Praise and Love. The very names of Pope Francis’ magisterial documents give one clear insight to understanding the faith in God and the trust in man that inhabit the priestly heart of Francis. A compelling biblical joy emerges: “I announce to you a great joy that will be of the entire people”. A joy that has entered the world and that is not reserved only to an exclusive elite of “pure”.

The one who speaks always and only of “doctrine” and separates it from the Gospel, which is its foundation, is a sad Christian and cannot be a credible witness. The disciples teach, first of all, with love, by accepting people as they are, by journeying with them, correcting them as a father would, but above all by contagiously attracting them through their coherent and joyful witness of Christian life.

If we do not “give up looking for those personal or communitarian remedies or fixes that permit us to maintain a distance from the crux of the human drama” (AL), we can not understand the “drama” of the Kerigma; the Kerigma is not a doctrine but a narrative that unfolds. Announcing the Gospel without personal involvement is an illusion, it is not only useless, but counterproductive. Without the smell of the sheep, the Shepherd is no longer a shepherd and becomes a wolf, he smells only of incense and of ink, he no longer wears the dirty clothes proper to the shepherd, but rather cloaks of the Constantinian era, which the sheep will not recognize.

Let’s go over some significant moments of the ministry of Pope Francis. At the end of October 2017, Pope Francis was in Lund, Sweden, to commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation together with the Lutheran World Federation.

In 2016, Francis, Bishop of Rome and Pope of the Catholic Church, and Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia (while signing a joint Declaration) embraced in Cuba. They did not propose an alliance, but pledged to walk together towards unity announcing Christ to the world. The Pope stresses that unity is realized by walking together.

Pope Francis has also undertaken with prudence and evangelical determination a path of reconciliation and dialogue with China. This process of reconciliation and dialogue takes up the important steps of his predecessors in this direction, especially the Letter to the Chinese Catholics, which perhaps was already conceived under the Pontificate of John Paul II and brought to light by Benedict XVI, and presents to China, in the course of a long and tortuous journey, a Church of dialogue, of mutual respect,and of mercy, a Church where one looks and works on “what unites us, rather than on what divides us”.

Pope Francis, as the bishop of Rome, has also indicated the direction that the Church in Italy must undertake. He began his pilgrimage in Italy from Lampedusa paying homage to two great prophetic figures, led by the Spirit namely, Don Milani and Don Mazzolari. In the coming weeks Pope Francis will continue his pilgrimage in the footsteps of Don Tonino Bello and don Zeno Saltini. In the ecclesial convention of Florence, Francis once again proposed his exhortation Evangelli Gaudium to all the Italian bishops as the principal instrument of evangelization.

We cannot forget the Jubilee of Mercy which began in one of the poorest countries in the world – the Central African Republic – offering the gift of opening the “Holy Door” not only in Rome, but throughout the world, in order to reach everyone, even those most distant.

“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” In other words, it is God who makes himself known through the Incarnate Word in the Son of Man, otherwise this God would not be the Christian God, but rather a concept, or even an ideological instrument, and one who doesn’t say anything to our heart. The people of God need pastors who are capable of touching the heart, they do not need instructions for use. A warm heart is like clay, more easily malleable from which little by little masterpieces are formed; in contrast, a heart that is inhabited only by instructions for use may be beautiful on the exterior, but interiorily it does not palpitate or feel and thus cannot be molded in any way.

“But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God”. In a certain sense, we are not born children of God, but we become his children. One becomes a child of God by accepting Jesus and imitating his life of love, spelled out in the Beatitudes. Pope Francis has made the Church be confronted by the Gospel and invites all of us to be imitators of Christ.

The language of Christianity is a universal language. It is a language of unity, but not of uniformity. Pope Francis, guided by the Spirit, teaches us daily to speak this universal language, the language of love in the joy of the Lord who comes and to praise the great things he has done for us and continues to do for us.

Like this:

The Preparatory Document of the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme “Young people, the faith and e vocational discernment” is guiding the process of preparation of the Pre-Synodal Meeting of March and the Synod of October.
As it is known, tche Holy Father wished to accompany this synodal journey with his personal letter to the youth of the whole world : “A better world can be built also as a result of your efforts, your desire to change and your generosity. Do not be afraid to listen to the Spirit who proposes bold choices; do not delay when your conscience asks you to take risks in following the Master. The Church also wishes to listen to your voice, your sensitivities and your faith; even your doubts and your criticism. Make your voice heard, let it resonate in communities and let it be heard by your shepherds of souls” (the letter of Pope Francis to the young people).
By now the questionnaire of consultation, sent to the representative bodies by law (Synods of Bishops and Councils of the Hierarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Episcopal Conferences, Dicasteries of the Roman Curia and Union of Superior Generals) proved to be a very useful tool. There is also the great novelty of a consultation of all young people through an Internet site, with a questionnaire about their expectations and their lives. The answers to the two questionnaires formed the basis for the drafting of the “Instrumentum Laboris”(working instrument) which will be the point of reference for the discussion of the Synod. Once again Pope Francis amazes us and encourages us to be protagonists of the Gospel and authentic and courageous witnesses of Christian life. All the young people of the world are “summoned”; they are called to make their voices heard, too often suffocated by the world of adults.
I would also remind you of the words that Jesus once said to the disciples who asked him: “Teacher […] where are you staying?” He replied, “Come and see” (Jn 1:38-39; the letter of Pope Francis to the young people).
As the Vatican has announced already, Pope Francis will canonize Blessed Pope Paul VI during the Synod of Bishops; a great gift for the youth of the world.
Let us begin this synodal journey knowing that the Lord calls us to follow Him with trust and passion, certainly He will always be with us during the journey.

What is paradise? It will be an awareness of our Inner Self. It is to become finally aware that our Inner Self was created in God’s image (Gen 1 27 :” So God created man in His own image…”). I shall see in myself the image of God the Creator. Everyone will see in himself a reflection of God; like a ray of sun born from the incandescent origin of God’s love. I will know I am part of God’s eternal love.

God will be present and known by billions of creatures who will live in the incandescence of His love, the Holy Spirit of God. The entire cosmos will be displayed in the sun of love.

Then paradise will be for each and all of us the enjoyment of God who created us in his image. I shall contemplate him in myself, immersed in His love; the love which unites us all in God.

This was what John meant in his First Letter 3 1-2: “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God.” “Beloved, now we are the sons of God , and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is”. In fact: “Love is God, and everyone who loveth is born of God and knoweth God. In this was manifested the love of God toward us because God sent his only begotten son into the world ”(1 John 4.7-10). Paradise will be to know and live in the likeness of god, the Father.

But there will be more: the Son sent by the Father, the Word of God has taken on and included in his ‘divinity’ , flesh similar to our flesh, to our body. “And the Word was made flesh ”(John 1 14). He is the “first-born” of the new creation, after the creation of Adam and Eve. The flesh of every man, in his suffering which penetrates the human experience and the entire cosmos has been absorbed and lived by the body of Christ.

In embracing all humanity, on the cross, Jesus leads us to descend into death to be resurrected with him on Easter Day. Paradise will be the glory of our resurrection in the resurrection of Jesus. We shall know each other and we shall love each other in the love of God with our body created for happiness. We shall live always in our love of the Spirit which lives eternally between the Father and the Word of God, the Son made man. Creation and Incarnation, these are the mystery of light and happiness.

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Reflections on the Church of Francis five years on from the renunciation of Benedict XVI.

From 11th February until 13th March in the Year of Our Lord 2013, a strong wind of the Spirit blew over the Church and the Earth.

“Brothers and sisters, good evening! […]“And first of all, I would like to offer a prayer to our Bishop Emeritus, Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord may bless him and that Our Lady may keep him”. The prayers Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory to the Father were then recited. “And now, we take up this journey: Bishop and People.”

Thus, Francis, the new Bishop of Rome, received the complex legacy of Benedict XVI’s papacy

«Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered…»(Heb5,8). We may say that as Pontiff, Benedict XVI also learned obedience from the things which he suffered. For many things in life we can have masters of all kinds. How many masters there are for politics, science, literature! But when we enter into the shadow of suffering there is no master because all voices cease. It is then that we learn, in obedience, – and in particular five years ago in Poe Benedict’s obedience – what it means to serve and not to serve the Church, what it means to love and not use the Church. Only the experience of suffering, of betrayal, in a word, Gethsemane, leads us to listen humbly to the voice of a love which is stronger than death.

On that particular 11th February, “Professor Ratzinger” gave the Church and the World a great lesson; his last act of love as the Universal Pastor.

By his renunciation, Benedict XVI also provided the Spirit with the space in which to present us with the gift of Pope Francis, who has opened up a new era for the Church.

We know from the Gospels that Peter’s profession of faith, the rock upon which Jesus wanted to build His Church, was immediately “denied by the facts”. Jesus reproached Peter with harsh words because he did not accept the annunciation of the cross. At first, the Apostle was blessed by the Father but immediately afterwards he even became an obstacle, a stumbling block on the path towards Jesus. Peter and the others still had a long way to go, many things to understand.

The temptation is to follow a Christ without a cross but Jesus reminds us that His path is that of love and there is no real love without sacrificing oneself.

Pope Francis has taken Christ’s cross on his shoulders and takes it everywhere with him in the world, not as an ensign but indicating it as an instrument of salvation for all men.

The Pope is swimming against the current, he has an uphill battle. He tells us that only the love of Christ gives meaning and happiness to life. Every day, by his example he shows us that if we organize our life on love as Jesus did, our life will not be sterile but fertile. He tells us that in the Eucharist, Jesus loses himself in order to find all of us.

Notwithstanding his witness of a Gospel “sine glossa” (or perhaps because of this?), the opposition to the Church of Francis, the Church of the poor and the least, is very active, also on the web and on certain traditionalist blogs. Often in an inept way thus invalidatings it, today they accuse the Pope of having cast the Church into doctrinal, moral and pastoral confusion. Curiously, these blogs speak to each other, they quote one another, they gather mutual strength from creating groups which remain minority groups – although what they come out with is very serious. They pose almost as the new Fathers of the Church. In reality they weigh like dust particles on the scales. Their tones and their arguments discredit them, but they are responsible for generating doubt and confusion among the People, above all among simple people and the lowly. But as the Gospel says, scandals must occur so that the true believers are revealed.

Pope Francis who came “from the end of the world” has today turned his attention to the entire world, to Christians, to other religions and naturally to the entire Catholic Church, indicating the Gospel as the safe route for the Church’s ship to sail and giving witness to it in his dialogue with believers in other faiths as well as non-believers, focusing “on what unites rather than what divides”.